Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Santiago, 34, is charged with murder for the death of his wife Meghan Santiago in September 2021. His court-martial begins Thursday at Fort Campbell, Ky. (U.S. Army)
A court-martial begins Thursday for a 5th Special Forces Group soldier at Fort Campbell, Ky., charged with murder in the death of his wife in September 2021, according to the Army base.
Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Santiago also is accused of injuring their unborn child and hitting his wife in the weeks before her death, according to court documents.
Santiago, a 34-year-old signal support specialist, remains in pretrial confinement at Grayson County Detention Center in Kentucky, according to a statement from 1st Special Forces Command.
Santiago is accused of hitting his pregnant wife, Meghan Santiago, 33, in the face and chest on Sept. 16, 2021, at their on-post home, according to court documents and the command. Meghan Santiago was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., where the baby was born in stable condition, the command said.
But Meghan Santiago died Sept. 27, 2021, from a blunt force trauma to the head, according to court documents. Joseph Santiago was taken into custody a day later, the Army said.
The couple’s three children are in the custody of the Kentucky Child Protection Branch, the command said.
Santiago, who enlisted in the Army in November 2007, has pleaded not guilty, and jury selection will begin Thursday with military judge Col. Travis Rogers, according to Fort Campbell.
